Star Indian paddler Manika Batra reached the quarterfinals of the WTT Champions event as she upset World No. 14 Bernadette Szocs in Montpellier, France, on Friday night.
World No. 30 Manika, delivering a sterling performance in the Round of 16, defeated eighth-seeded Szocs 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 13-11, 11-9) in 29 minutes.
With this convincing win, Manika, who made history by becoming the first Indian paddler ever to reach pre-quarterfinals in singles at the Olympics in Paris, became the first Indian paddler ever to qualify for the quarter-finals of a WTT Champions event.
Manika will next play Qian Tianyi on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
After the match stayed in balance, with both Manika and Szocs winning a game apiece, the Indian saved two game points in a thrilling third game to win 13-11 and claim a 2-1 lead.
Manika Batra marches to the QFs of the WTT Champions event in Montpellier, France.🏓💥
The Indian won 3️⃣-1️⃣ in 29 minutes⏰ against the 8️⃣th seed Romanian Bernadette Szocs in round of 16 clash.
She will now face 🇨🇳’s Qian Tianyi in QF.✅#TableTennis pic.twitter.com/rBO8CMfAo9
— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) October 26, 2024
Szocs sought a time-out while trailing 4-7 in the must-win fourth game.
Manika, however, stayed firm to counter a late surge and sealed a victory, converting her second match point. Following this win, Manika took a 6-5 lead in the head-to-head record against Szocs.
This was Manika’s second successive win over Szocs. The Indian star defeated the paddler in India’s 3-2 pre-quarterfinals win over Romania at the Paris Olympics.
In the first round, Manika registered a thumping 3-0 (11-4, 11-8, 12-10) win over the USA’s Lily Zhang.
Manika’s opponent in the quarterfinal, Qian Tianyi, meanwhile, stunned World No. 4 Wang Yidi 3-0 (11-7, 11-9, 13-11) in their round of 16 match.
Sreeja Akula, the other Indian in the fray, succumbed to a 3-2 (6-11, 11-7, 11-1, 8-11, 11-8) defeat to World No. 13 Adriana Diaz of Puerto Rico in the first round.